One Perfect Summer Published by MIRA by Brenda Novak
on April 7, 2020
Genres: Fiction, Women's Fiction, Chick-Lit, Contemporary
Pages: 400
Source: Netgalley, Publisher
Format: ARC, eBook
Find the Author: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram
Find the Book: Goodreads
ISBN: 1488055459
Rating:
Some families we’re born into
Some we find for ourselves
When Serenity Alston swabbed her cheek for 23andMe, she joked about uncovering some dark ancestral scandal. The last thing she expected was to discover two half sisters she didn’t know existed. Suddenly, everything about her loving family is drawn into question. And meeting these newfound sisters might be the only way to get answers.
The women decide to dig into the mystery together at Serenity’s family cabin in Lake Tahoe. With Reagan navigating romantic politics at work and Lorelei staring down the collapse of her marriage, all three women are converging at a crossroads in their lives. Before the summer is over, they’ll have to confront the past and determine how to move forward when everything they previously thought to be true was a lie. But any future is easier to face with family by your side.
This book starts out with three almost-strangers who are, in fact, sisters. Half sisters who, until, the year before, had no knowledge of each other. The story delves into each of their lives separately and the issues that each sister is dealing with and how that brings them closer together.
From the beginning the reader isn’t told who their real parents are or what happened. Along with the characters, we’re left to wonder what the backstory is.
But, that mystery didn’t take away from the story of these three sisters and their building their relationships, even in the midst of their differences and the walls they all have to bring down.
I am impressed with how the author approached this subject. I’m mostly impressed with how the relationships between family took center-stage even when there were pressing issues at hand.
My first read by Ms. Novak but definitely not my last!
About Brenda Novak
“I caught my day-care provider drugging my children with cough syrup and Tylenol to get them to sleep while I was away,” Brenda says. “It was then that I decided that I needed to do something from home.”
However, writing was the last profession she expected to undertake. In fact, Brenda swears she didn’t have a creative bone in her body. In school, math and science were her best subjects, and when it came time to pick a major in college, she chose business.
Abandoning her academic scholarship to Brigham Young University at the age of 20 in order to get married and start a family, Brenda dabbled in commercial real estate, then became a loan officer.
“When I first got the idea to become a novelist, it took me five years to teach myself the craft and finish my first book,” Brenda admits. “I learned how to write by reading what others have written. The best advice for any would-be author: read, read, read….”
Brenda sold her first book, and the rest is history. Many of her novels have won or placed in contests such as the National Reader's Choice, the Bookseller's Best, the Write Touch, the Award of Excellence and the Beacon Award for Published Authors.
Brenda and her husband, Ted, live in Sacramento and are the proud parents of five children—three girls and two boys. She juggles her writing career with her children’s softball and soccer games, field trips, carpool runs and homework sessions.
When she’s not spending time with her family or writing, Brenda is usually working on her annual fundraiser for diabetes research—an on-line auction held at her website May 1st – May 31st. Her youngest son, Thad, has diabetes, and Brenda is determined to help him and others like him. She also enjoys traveling, watching sporting events and biking--she rides an amazing 20 miles every day!
